Mammoth Caravan introduces its first EP.
After releasing a first demo in 2022 between Doom, Sludge and Stoner, Brandon Ringo (bass/chant), Evan Swift (guitar) and Robert Warner (drums) announce the release of Ice Cold Oblivion, a conceptual EP about a nomad hunting a baby mammoth.
After placing some strange sounds, the band unveils their extreme distortion with Ice Cold Oblivion, the first track, which already promises to be very heavy and haunting. Raw screams join the thick sound with some mystical ominous choirs that give the heavy riffs an airy touch, then the band is joined by Mat Johnson (Stone Crusher) to enhance the oppression coupled with heady tones. We will also have perfectly anchored leads with psychedelic influences on the greasy basis which will become suffocating, then which will let Petroglyphs reveal more soothing melancholic tones. Saturation will soon come back, followed by massive screams and regular but aggressive hits, but it’s in the quietness that the track will give way to Megafauna, a heavy composition with Old School influences marked under the waves of greasy dissonance. No screams, only heavy and catchy riffs before Periglacial lets clean vocals come back to life without cutting back the place of this rhythmic’s oppressive saturation. Screams also join the mix as well as those distant choirs to accompany us to Frostbite, the last track which is also the longest, to mix Old School roots with the dark, grimy and heavy tones. Fans of psychedelic sounds will also enjoy the crazy solo before the track gradually slows down to the final.
Although this is only their first EP, Mammoth Caravan has radically anchored themselves in a saturated and heavy style. With their Old School roots, the band has made Ice Cold Oblivion a true Sludge gem without denying the catchy Stoner influences.
85/100